Rodney Ho’s good, bad and ugly review of Georgia entertainment in 2024

Also, the Peach Drop is back this year with Big Boi and the Georgia Festival of Trees at Gas South revived the Pink Pig ride.

Here are notable stories from 2024:

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

The year in CNN

CNN bid farewell to CNN Center, once a major tourist attraction, for good in March and the iconic red-and-white 5,000-pound aluminum logo on the sidewalk was moved to the Midtown campus in the fall. In late June, CNN hosted a presidential debate in that new location between then candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Biden’s tepid performance led to the Democrats replacing him with Kamala Harris a month later. Since Trump’s election win last month, CNN has seen ratings tumble, and there are talks of major cuts coming in 2025 as management tries to realign CNN for a more digital future.

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Tyler Perry keeps busy as usual

Perry released a trio of films, two with his signature soapy elements with “Divorce in the Black” on Amazon and “Mea Culpa” on Netflix, then his first historical drama in December “Six Triple Eight” starring Kerry Washington about an all-Black female Army battalion during World War II. He extended his deal with Paramount Global for nine TV series, signed a new deal to create unscripted programming and began working with Netflix to develop faith-based films. He released his first series for Netflix “Beauty in Black.” He also made waves in February by announcing he was freezing an $800 million expansion of Tyler Perry Studios due to concerns about how artificial intelligence will reduce the need for studios in the future. And after reading an AJC article about a family ripped off by a contractor and forced to live in a home stripped of heat, electrical or walls, Perry happily paid for the renovation and even came by the home to take a selfie.

Credit: Ryan Fleisher

Credit: Ryan Fleisher

Music festival struggles

Rising costs and more discerning ticket buyers made festivals far less profitable for promoters. Both Music Midtown and Imagine festivals decided to bow out completely in 2024. One MusicFest at the last second moved to a smaller location. Sweetwater 420 was forced to switch from a paid event to a free one. Centennial Olympic Park bowed out of hosting them completely.

Credit: Disney

Credit: Disney

The TV/film business lag

With the writers and actors strikes in the rear view mirror in 2024, many people in the film and TV business thought Georgia would see a major boost in business, similar to the post-pandemic bump. But that didn’t materialize. Streaming services were cutting back on creating content as they began pursuing profitability while the U.K. improved their tax credit system to make it more appealing for big budget films that might have otherwise come to Georgia. So business fell back to 2018 levels although studio space has more than doubled since that time period and thousands more crew members and actors were in the market for work that didn’t materialize. There are signs 2025 might see a pick up in business, but it’s too early to know for sure. While Netflix’s “Stranger Things” wrapped as the year ended, the city may have a long-term tenant with ABCs “Will Trent” and CBS is gambling on a new soap opera “Beyond the Gates” that began production in November at Doraville’s Assembly Studios and is set to debut in February 2025.

Credit: SCRIPPS

Credit: SCRIPPS

Scripps shuts down

While the Weather Channel and CNN made smaller cutbacks, E.W. Scripps ― based in Atlanta ― shut down its 24/7 news operations Scripps News completely in November. About 200 people were laid off Nov. 15. They could not generate enough eyeballs or revenue to stay alive as a free, over-the-air broadcast network even with all the ancillary digital access points.

Credit: AP File Photo

Credit: AP File Photo

The chase for the Sundance Film Festival

In the spring, the much ballyhooed Sundance Film Festival began considering other cities besides its home base of Park City, Utah. Atlanta aggressively chased after the prize, a story the AJC broke in April. The city created a detailed website touting the region’s appeal to the film community, offered some guaranteed cash and services and gave the Sundance search committee a VIP tour of the city in late July. But in September, Atlanta was cut from the list of finalists, effectively outbid by smaller metropolitan areas Boulder, Colorado; Cincinnati, Ohio; and a combo of Salt Lake City and Park City.

Credit: HBO

Credit: HBO

Larry David uses Atlanta election laws as ‘Curb’ fodder

During the 12th and final season of HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” creator and star Larry David decided to mock Georgia voting rules passed after the 2020 election. He was fictionally arrested in Atlanta for giving a woman waiting in line to vote a water bottle and created a mugshot that looked a lot like Trump’s actual mugshot. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the creators “nasty commies.” The series finale returned to Atlanta for a trial in which David was sentenced to a year in prison, a callback to the “Seinfeld” finale 26 years earlier.

Credit: 94.9/TH

Credit: 94.9/TH

Changes in the radio scene

Frank Ski left Kiss 104.1 at the start of the year, replaced later in the year by Toni Moore and Tony “Sco” Scofield in the mornings.

In January, Jim Powell announced he was leaving Braves radio.

Brian Moote and Kimmie Caruba lost their local morning show slot at 94.9/The Bull in March in favor of a syndicated show out of Nashville led by Bobby Bones.

In April, iHeart moved its hip-hop station the Beat from 105.3 to its more powerful signal 96.1, relegating Power to the weaker 105.3 signal.

In May, WSB radio shifted Sean Hannity’s syndicated show entirely to the evening, giving Eric Von Haessler’s local show the entire 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. slot.

In September, former Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton left 680/The Fan without explanation.

Also, in July, I wrote an extensive profile on 92.9/The Game’s “Steak” Shapiro, who balances his sports talk job with his thriving video production company.

Credit: Bravo

Credit: Bravo

The saga of Kim Zolciak’s home

Reality star Kim Zolciak and her husband and former Falcon player Kroy Biermann were virtual fixtures on TMZ this year. In the midst of a rancorous divorce, they kept calling the police officers over various personal entanglements. They also kept dropping the price of their Milton mansion, which they purchased together more than a decade ago. They had fallen behind on mortgage payments, so their lender placed the house for auction in early December but the auction was pulled at the last second. Days later, the home was taken off the market but it’s unclear if Zolciak’s real estate agent has closed a deal yet with a buyer. Either way, TMZ reports the couple are now living in separate rental homes and moved out of the home.

Credit: NYT

Credit: NYT

A strange year for Francis Ford Coppola

“Godfather” producer Francis Ford Coppola fell in love with Atlanta while shooting his passion project of a movie “Megalopolis,” which he self funded to the tune of $120 million-plus. He decided to live in the area at least part of the time and even purchased a former budget hotel in Peachtree City and transformed it into a hybrid resort and postproduction facility called the All Movie Hotel. He celebrated his 85th birthday in Atlanta at the Plaza Theatre screening of his film “The Cotton Club.” “Megalopolis” ultimately did poorly at the box office in September and received mixed reviews. He also had to fight off a lawsuit by an extra who says she was touched without her consent during a club scene.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Changes in the local tourism business

Zoo Atlanta bid farewell to its giant pandas after a quarter century in October and a month later, I wrote a detailed piece on how the zoo is prepared to live without them.

The College Football Hall of Fame added a cool AI component to its experience.

The Georgia Aquarium introduced two new “touch” ponds featuring lake sturgeon and cownose rays.

The Illuminarium leased its space out to French company Eclipso for VR experiences focused on the Egyptian pyramids, French impressionists and a history of Earth.

In July, the Atlanta History Center reopened the Margaret Mitchell House after four years of completely modernizing the presentation.

In Athens, the 8,500-seat Akins Ford Arena opened with the B-52s.

Credit: GOFUNDME

Credit: GOFUNDME

My most popular story of the year:

In March, I wrote about a man who created a GoFundMe page for “Banjo Boy” Billy Redden, a Georgia actor from the Oscar-nominated 1972 Burt Reynolds movie “Deliverance” who was suffering from medical problems. The GoFundMe page collected more than $30,000 while the story itself generated more than 140,000 page views.

Credit: Disney

Credit: Disney

Phaedra Parks reality show comeback

Parks was a fixture on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” from 2010 until 2017 when she was fired after spreading false rumors about another cast member who had more sway than she did. She largely disappeared from reality TV for several years but found a way to join Bravo’s sister show “Married to Medicine” despite being an attorney (she was supposedly dating a medical professional). She then signed on to the second season of Peacock’s “The Traitors” and became a standout star, playing devious with just the right level of spark and malice. After Kenya Moore got in trouble on set, Bravo swooped in and brought Parks back after seven years in exile for the 16th season set to air in 2025. She also finished eighth on the most recent season of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Jamie Foxx’s medical comeback

Foxx almost died in Atlanta in April of last year after a stroke landed him in the hospital, where he was unconscious for more than two weeks. He told an audience in a special taped for Netflix in October at the Alliance Theatre in Midtown and released this month that the doctors at Piedmont Hospital saved his life. He went into rehab in Chicago and now appears to be back to full strength after plenty of physical therapy, support from family and faith.

Credit: WAGA-T

Credit: WAGA-T

Broadcast departures

There was no shortage of local broadcasters leaving the business either via retirement or a career shift.

In February, veteran 11Alive reporter Jon Shirek retired after a whopping 43 years at the station.

Both Fox 5′s Randy Travis and Beth Galvin took early buyouts in June.

Fox 5 anchor Sharon Lawson also left about the same time after seven years.

11Alive reporter Jerry Carnes retired in August after 35 years at 11Alive and 42 years in the business.

Veteran WANF-FM reporter Rebekka Schramm in September departed the CBS affiliate after 23 years to join the public relations team at Wellstar Health System.

Fox 5 meteorologist Jeff Hill left the same month after 26 years at the station, telling the AJC at the time: “I’m young enough to do something if I want to. Or not, if I don’t want to.”

In September, WANF-TV sportscaster Emily Gagnon left after seven-plus years without fanfare.

WSB-TV anchor Justin Farmer left earlier this month after more than 16 years at the station to work in wealth management.

Deaths

I wrote several obituaries this year of Atlanta notables:

Wanda Smith, a comic and longtime morning host on the popular V-103 morning show for 20 years, who died of unspecified causes at age 59 in October.

Art Harris, a former AJC reporter and CNN correspondent who covered major stories for decades with dogged determination, was especially fascinating. He died in September at 76. “I see myself as a storyteller, pure and simple,” Harris told the AJC in 1993. “I look for things that are potentially good yarns, because if the material is there, you can sculpt it. If you’ve done the work and gathered the anecdotes, sometimes you can write a piece that reads like fiction, and that’s the so-called ‘new journalism.’ That’s the challenge.”

Ralph from Ben Hill (real name: Calvin Miles Smith Jr.), a talk-show host on WGST who made waves in the early 1990s, died at age 74 in May of cardiac arrest. “I’m torn between being an entertainer and liberator,” Smith told The AJC in 1992.

James Gregory, a local stand-up comic who dubbed himself “Funniest Man in America,” died the same month at age 78.

Credit: LORI

Credit: LORI

Lou Gossett Jr., who won an Oscar in 1982 for “An Officer and a Gentleman,” lived in Atlanta for several years before dying in March at 87.

Charlie Brown, a drag queen legend in Atlanta for decades, died at age 74 in March. “The best thing about my career is I am entertaining. I am making people laugh,” he told the AJC in 2019. “If you can’t laugh at a 69-year-old fat, baldheaded man in a dress, you don’t have any business here after dark.”

Steven Mensch, president of Tyler Perry Studios and major supporter of the local film and TV industry for decades, died while flying a single engine plane in Florida on Dec. 6. He was 62.